New fire tunnel record attempt plan

The “elderly statesmen” of South African stunt riding are preparing another assault on the Guinness World Record for riding a motorcycle through a fire tunnel.

Enrico Schoeman (54) and Andre' de Kock (58) plan to ride their Kawasaki-powered sidecar combination through a 100m fire tunnel before the end of 2011. Earlier this year, they rode the machine through a 66m fire tunnel at the Tarlton Raceway near Krugersdorp, smashing the previous world record, held by United States superbike rider Clint Ewing, by 10 percent.

“But it wasn't enough,” De Kock said this week. “When we submitted proof of our run to Guinness, we found out that somebody in India had recently ridden through a 67m long tunnel.

“Losing out on the world record by less than a metre is ludicrous - so now we're going to ride through a 100m tunnel and put the whole matter beyond dispute.”

De Kock said Schoeman and he had always planned to ride a 100m tunnel.

“But we ran out of money for steel to build the tunnel frame beyond 66 metres and had to settle on that distance.

“This time, we're going to raise funds beforehand so we don't have to beg people for the materials we need.”

The fundraising programme will start this month at the Biltong Café in Ontdekkers Road - a favourite watering hole for Gauteng bikers - which will host various concerts and get-togethers to raise the needed funds.